1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector for flexible printed board called FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit).
2. Description of Related Art
There has been known to the art the connector of this type which includes a synthetic-resin housing having an opening and contacts facing the opening, and a synthetic-resin cover which is pivotally movable to open/close the opening of the housing and which, at closed position, maintains the FPC pressed against the contacts.
The cover is integrally formed with a pair of resin projections, as support shafts, at opposite ends of one edge thereof. As born on pivotal support portions of the housing (or members retained by the housing), these support shafts permit the cover to pivot between an opened position and the closed position.
On the other hand, the cover is integrally formed with a pair of resin locking projections at opposite ends of the other edge thereof. The locking projections are brought into engagement with lock notches of the housing for establishing lock (see, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Gazette No. 6-77186).
The aforesaid resin locking projections are relatively small in diameter and susceptible to deformation or breakage. In particular, repeated openings and closings of the cover involve disadvantages that the lock comes loose due to the deformed locking projection or fails due to the broken locking projection.
More recently, there has been a growing trend to reduce pitch between contacts or to increase multipolar contacts. This leads to the adoption of synthetic resin materials for the cover which have enough fluidity to ensure dimensional accuracy. Unfortunately, the synthetic resin materials of this type tend to decrease in toughness, resulting in higher incidence of locking projection breakage.
The invention seeks to provide an electrical connector for flexible printed board which features positive locking of the cover and a locking mechanism rigid enough to withstand repeated openings and closings of the cover.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, this object is accomplished in an electrical connector for flexible printed board which comprises a synthetic-resin housing including an opening and contacts facing the opening; a synthetic-resin cover which is rotatable around a predetermined axis between an opened position and a closed position to press a flexible printed board against the contacts; a locking mechanism for locking the cover in the closed position; first metallic reinforcement means which is partially embedded in the cover during the molding of the cover; and second metallic reinforcement means fixed to the housing, the connector characterized in that the locking mechanism is respectively disposed in the first and the second reinforcement means and includes a first and a second engagement portions which releasably engage with each other.
According to the embodiment of the invention, the locking of the cover is ensured because the cover is locked by means of the engagement between the rigid metallic members. Further, the locking mechanism withstands the repeated openings and closings of the cover. In addition, the first reinforcement means has high adhesion to the cover because the first reinforcement means is inserted in the cover during the molding thereof.